I will discuss the economic issues of globalization of capital and its relationships to the structural adjustment policies. I will present an overview of global capital and its strategies since the 90's, its anti-union actions, and sweat shops. Then from the general discussion, I will continue on to the specific effects on women and then, discuss Iran as a case study.
Globalization of capital has been a continuous process of the growth of world capitalism. In the 80’s the neoliberal ideologues won power in the US and the UK and started the implementation of their economic policies at home and in the peripheral countries. In the early 80’s they implemented these policies through the Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPS) of World Bank and the IMF. In the 90’s they expanded the scope of the neoliberal policies through the WTO.
All these policies have had overreaching negative economic consequences for the people of the Third World countries and specifically for the working-class families. The effects of these policies intensify in the case of women. Examples of these policies are the reduction and in some cases the elimination of many social welfare programs in health, food and housing subsidies.
There are several basic reasons for this:
Iran is a case that fits this norm. The development of this process in Iran has been slower in some aspects compare to some other third World countries in Latin America and Asia. The reason for this is that the Iranian economy was not integrated into the global system at the same rate due to the US sanctions. The other reason was the isolation of the Iranian economy due to the uncertain nature of the revolution and the war. Once the war ended and the government established itself, the Iranian economy became a good place for European investors. Beginning in the 1990's, the growth of neoliberal ideology and policies, and the increasing support for them in Iran, helped to push forward their implementation. The economic rhetoric of the radical faction has subsided, especially with the elimination of its support from the ranks of the power structure in Iran.
The result has been the increase in health cost, education cost even to the degree of fees for public schools, elimination of all sorts of subsidies for shelter and food, privatization of public services and some utilities, and finally the intensification of sweatshop working conditions especially for women in textile and carpet producing sectors. All the elements listed previously define the conditions of the women of the working class and poor families in Iran today. The woman who live under these difficult conditions in Iran are not limited to the traditional blue-collar workers, but increasingly includes the service sector where many women work. These include office workers, teachers and nurses. One of the devastating effects of the neoliberal economic policies is the increase in the gap between the poor and the rich. This results in the decrease in the middle class, which pushes many of them into the poor category. Globally, the neoliberal economic policies have produced the feminization of poverty. This phenomenon is very prevalent in Iran where women are very limited in the area of trade due to the social constraints.
The world capitalist system has been facing a declining rate of profit for several decades. In the 80’s the implementation of the SAP were one of the tools used to intensify exploitation and thus, increase the profit rate. In the 90’s the continuing struggle for profits manifested itself in the form of expansion of neoliberal policies through organizations such as the WTO. These policies have lead to the increase in the gap between the global north and the global south. Iran, which is among the global south economies, has been losing ground. The accumulation of capital necessary to build the infrastructure for economic development has become ever more so difficult and elusive. Consequently, the Government of Iran has implemented the SAP and neo-liberal policies to attract some foreign capital and privatize the assets of the country to buy itself some time. Thus, the answer to the economic sufferings of the women in Iran is not the change in the Islamic government to a secular neoliberal system. Strong countries of the global south, such as Brazil, that have implemented neoliberal economic policies, are going bankrupt.
These policies are having the same effect in Iran. The only way to bring about economic justice for all, and thus, free women from their economic hardships and from the social injustices that accompany their lack of economic power, is to struggle against the hegemony of the global capital.